Unless you've spent the last 50 years in a sealed concrete bunker, you'll
be aware of Guinness's dominance of the Irish brewing scene. Their last
Dublin rival (Findlaters) closed in 1949 and by the mid-1960's they
had rounded up the last few stray ale breweries.

The only challenge to total control was in Cork, where the tied house system
of Murphy's and Beamish & Crawford kept Guinness at bay,
at least for a while.

Under pressure from their own landlords (who wanted to sell Guinness), the
Cork brewers gave up their tied houses in the 1970's. They soon ran into
trouble and were snapped up by foreign globalists, eager to own an "Irish
stout" brand. Their stouts are now often easier to find abroad than
in their native country.

The micro revolution
Ireland is one of the last of the traditional brewing nations of Europe
to undergo a microbrewery boom. The stranglehold of Guinness on the licensed
trade has surely played a role in suppressing new brewery startups. In 2005
progressive beer duty was due to be introduced. It should proivide a boost
to the fledgling micro industry.

There was a brief flirtation with Dublin-brewed real ale in the early 1980's
(Dempsey's and Harty's), but neither lasted very long. It
wasn't until the 1990's with the Biddy Early brewpub that anyone dared try
again. A steady trickle of new brewpubs and micros has continued since,
though they are still of minor significance in terms of volume (45,000 hl
to Guinness's 5.2 million hl). The lack of a sliding scale of duty is seen
as a major obstacle to new breweries entering the market.

The story in Northern Ireland has been much the same, where Bass and Guinness
have long enjoyed a duopoly. Hilden, Ireland's oldest microbrewery
(founded 1981) has survived rather than prospered. The long absence of cask-conditioned
beer and the lack of proper cellars in many bars has not helped their cause.
Whitewater joined them in 1996. A couple of other micros and a brewpub
came and quickly disappeared again in the 1980's. All the new brewereies
have produced cask-conditioned beer on a regular basis.

Ireland now has more breweries than at any time since the early 1920's.
This is how the 20 active breweries (16 in the Irish Republic, 4 in Northern
Ireland) can be classified:

Brewery

No.

Details

Diageo

3

Guinness, Smithwicks, Harp.

Heineken

1

Murphy's.

Scottish & Newcastle

1

Beamish & Crawford..

Interbrew

0

The former Bass brewery in Belfast closed in 2005.

Independents

0

There are no established independent breweries in Ireland.

Brewpubs

3

Dublin now only has one - Porterhouse have a separate brewery..

Microbreweries

12

Considering the hostile climate - no progressive beer duty, Guinness's
control of the on-trade - it's surprising how large this sector is.

Irish
beer styles

Ireland is famous for one style of beer: stout. Originating in 18th century
London, porter became immensely popular in Ireland around 1800. Eventually
Dublin ousted London as porter capital and by 1900 Irish brewers were exporting
huge quantities to England. The extent of this trade can be deduced from
the statistics for UK beer imports:
with the independence of the Irish Republic these increased from around
50,000 barrels (82,000 hl) a year to 1,500,000 barrels (2,455,000 hl).

Guinness pioneered mixed-gas dispense (carbon dioxide and nitrogen) in the
early 1960's. Today it's widely used for serving both draught stout and
ale. The older system of serving draught stout involved two barrels behind
the bar. Each glass was first filled about two-thirds with old, relatively
flat beer from the lower cask ("low stout"). It was topped up
with lively, young beer from a smaller cask on a high shelf ("high
stout").

Modern stout is a mere shadow of its pre-WW I self. The classic porter strength
- from the early 18th century up until 1900 - was around 1056º. Stout
was a minimum of 1060º.

If you want to get an idea of old-fashioned Irish stout, try Guinness Foreign
Extra Stout. It's the closest approximation you'll find today. You'll notice
that in 1840 Guinness Extra Stout was stronger than the current FES.

Notes:
* Before 1896 Porter was called Single Stout , Extra Stout was called
Double Stout.
Foreign Extra Stout was also known as Foreign Export Double Stout
and West Indies Porter at different dates.. It was the same strength
as the domestic Double Sout, but more heavily hopped and matured for
longer (up to 2 years)

In the years 1900 - 1916 a high proportion of beer brewed in Ireland must
have been the stronger stouts. The average Original Gravity hovered around
1065º. As a comparison, in England and Wales it was 1051 - 1052º
and in Scotland only 1047 - 1049º. You can find the full details here.

Irish beer styles todayStout
Stout has steadily lost popularity with drinkers over the last 40 years,
but is still the most popular style. Ireland is the last country in the
world where the majority of beer is still top-fermented.

Lager
The first lager brewery (Darty Brewing Co.) was established in Dublin in
1892, but only lasted a five years. A second attempt was made with the wonderfully
named Regal Lager Brewery Ltd. (in Kelis, county Meath) in 1937. It lasted
slightly longer, closing in 1954. Serious lager brewing began when Guinness
converted the Great Northern Brewery in Dundalk to produce Harp in the 1950's.

Murphy and Beamish followed Guinness into the lager market, brewing a variety
of foreign brands under licence. The names have come and gone with the changes
of ownership, but the product has remained largely the same. They have been
surprisingly successful in this section of the market, the only one where
Guinness has punched below its weight. Their market share of only around
50% - in what is an expanding sector - must be a worry.

This is the only area where a British brewery (the former Bass subsidiary
Tennents) has made any lasting impact on the Irish market.

Ale
For decades the three large breweries (Guinness, Murphy, Beamish) were happy
to brew nothing but porter-style beers. There was a parallel world of quite
small ale breweries which struggled along until the 1950's. The remaining
half dozen or so merged to form the imaginatively-named Irish Ale Brewers,
which Guinness bought in 1965.

Keg ales made big inroads in stout's market share during the 1960's and
1970's, before being overtaken by lager as the drink of the moment.

Their fortunes have been revived in the last 15 years by sales outside their
native country. Keg Kilkenny is a "must have" beer for fake Irish
pubs across Europe. Caffrey's started the fad for "smoothflow"
ales in Britain. Both Murphy and Beamish now brew "Red Ales",
but their impact inside Ireland has been minimal, where Guinness brands
still dominate.

Style

alc.

Description

Pilsner

4 - 4.5%

The standard very pale, slightly hoppy sort of crap sold everywhere.
Most new breweries make pale lagers, often using genuine continental
hops.

Porter

4%

The lowest-gravity member of the stout family. It was gradually
dropped by breweries as beer gravities were reduced after 1918. Guinness
phased out its porter in the early 1970's. Has been revived by new
breweries.

Stout

4 - 5%

The classic Irish beer. Also known as "Extra Stout" or
"Dry Stout". Black, bitter and with a burnt note from the
use of roasted barley.

Export Stout

7-8%

A strong export type of stout. Dark and powerful. Guinness Foreign
Extra Stout is a good example (now I think about it, the only
example).

Irish Ale

4 - 5%

Dark amber (they are often called "Red Ales") in colour,
relatively lightly hopped and with an amount of smokiness from roast
barley. Generally darker and less hoppy than English bitter.

Wheat Beer

4 - 5%

Golden ales with a proportion of wheat in the grist. A recent innovation,
brewed exclusively by micros and brewpubs.

Notes:
up to 1881, calculated according to the Quantities of Malt and Sugar used
1884 - 1895, 1913 Standard Barrels Charged
with Beer Duty
1900 - 1922 the Number of bulk barrels upon which duty was paid during the
year.
1 barrel = 163.656 litres.

Stout. A touch paler than Guinness or Murphy's. Probably closer
to a porter than a stout.

Beamish Red Irish Ale

4.2%

Irish ale.

Miller Genuine Draft

4.2%

Pale lager.

Owned by Scottish & Newcastle.
Beamish stout is far harder to find than its main Irish rivals, despite
being under globalist control.

Alfred Barnard, wrote in his 1889 book 'Noted Breweries of Great Britain
& Ireland':

"The business of Beamish & Crawford in Cork is a very old
one dating as far back as the seventeenth century and it is said to be
the most ancient porter brewery in Ireland.

The home of the brewery at South Main Street, lies in the heart of what
was the medieval city. Originally one of the old city gates stood nearby
as did the Cork jail. Indeed a stone from the jail, upon which the severed
heads of the executed used to be displayed, now stands outside the counting
house door at the brewery. The huge lock on the door also came from the
jail.

The business partnership prospered and within fifteen years output at
Beamish & Crawford had grown from 12,000 barrels per year to a phenomenal
100,000 barrels in 1805, making it the largest brewery in the country
and the third largest in Britain and Ireland."

The brewery has been traded between globalists (more accurately, would-be
globalists) in the past four decades. Here are the details:

A low-strength version of the stout being test marketed in Ireland
in early 2006. Probably won't be around for long.

Draught Guinness

4.1% (OG 1039)

Stout. Served by mixed gas pressure. Filtered and pasteurised. Nowadays
served ridiculously cold. For those who can't take the minute amount
of flavour still discernible at 5º C, they have "Extra Cold".
Milk and burnt aroma; bitter taste with burnt, fruit and cream aromas;
bitter finish with liquorice, burnt, toffee and cream aromas.
Not much aroma, but otherwise OK.

55

Guinness Original

4.2%

Stout. The bottled version found in the British off-licences. Filtered
and pasteurised.
Cream, burnt, coffee and cream aroma; sweetish/bitter taste with burnt,
fruit, cream and liquorice aromas; very bitter finish with burnt,
hop, liquorice and black chocolate aromas.
Bottled Guinness without its soul. Surprisingly, still a worthwhile
beer. Lacks the sourness and complexity of the bottle-conditioned
version. Still packed with roast barley bitterness.

72

Guinness Draught

4.2%

Stout. Can with a widget and mixed gas. Filtered and pasteurised.
Malt and burnt aroma; sweetish/bitterish taste with burnt and cream
aromas; bitterish finish with burnt and liquorice aromas.
Looks impressive, but almost flavourless. How do they make it so bland?
For people who drink with their eyes. It improved immensely when I
topped it up with FES.

33

Guinness Extra Stout

4.3%

Stout. Bottle-conditioned. Still available in Ireland, last I heard
(I hoped). A classic - worth going to Ireland to drink. It was a sad
day when it was withdrawn from the UK.
It has an intense burnt bitterness, balanced with a sour cream undertone.
A truly wonderful beer. I do hope that it still exists. A pity that
the idiots who run Guinness don't realise what a treasure they have.

89

Guinness Export Draught

5%

Stout. A stronger draught beer sold in "Irish" pubs across
continental Europe. Served by mixed gas pressure. Filtered and pasteurised.

Guinness Foreign Extra Stout

7.5% (OG 1078)

Export stout. Filtered and pasteurised. The sort of Guinness you
find in the tropics. Very nice.

Guinness Special Export Stout

8%

Export stout. A version of Foreign Extra Stout that is sold in Belgium
and Holland. Filtered and pasteurised.
Burnt, toffee, bread, chocolate, fruit and milk aromas.; sweet/bitter/sourish
taste with dates, burnt, toffee, liquorice and milk aromas; very bitter
finish with burnt, black toffee, cream, coffee, liquorice and fruit
aromas.
A big, beefy beer with a subtle touch of sourness. The sort of beer
that bravely resists brewery conditioning and doesn't quite lose.
I'm lucky enough to have an off licence 100 yards from my house that
sells it. It's a beer that always gets me into a 19th century mood.
What a pathetic nostalgic I am. If I were to be granted one beer wish,
it would be: a bottle-conditioned version of this beer. Knowing the
depth bottle-conditioning added to Extra Stout, I'm certain an unfiltered
Export/Foreign Stout would be sensational. Bet the useless gits never
do it, but I can dream.

84

Owned by Diageo. Excuse me if I have
omitted some of the many variations Guinness produce of their 3 basic products
- bottled Guinness, draught Guinness and Foreign Extra Stout. The company
seems perversely determined to destroy a product and a business developed
over more than two centuries.

As their London brewery (capacity 2.6 million hl) is closing (Summer 2005),
all the Guinness in Europe will soon come from Dublin. The capacity of St.James's
Gate will be expanded to 6,000,000 hl to cope.

Guinness brands over time

In 1796 Guinness brewed two beers: ale and porter. In 1799 the ale was dropped.
In 1801 they introduced Keeping Porter and in 1803 Country Porter.

Superior Porter was brewed from 1806 on an occasional basis, After
1840 it was known as Single Stout. In 1896 it was renamed Porter.
It was last brewed in the early 1970's.

Extra Superior Porter was occasuionally brewed from 1806 onwards.
After 1821 it was brewed regularly and became the mainstay of exports to
England. Around 1840 the name was changed to Double Stout. In 1896
in was renamed Extra Stout. This is the forerunner of today's Guinness
Extra Stout. In the early days a "Keeping" version was brewed,
which was matured longer and blended with fresh beer in the Summer to maintain
quality during warm weather.

West Indies Porter, was also brewed occasionally in the early 1800’s.
By 1840 it was a regular product and was called Triple Stout. After
1896 it was called Foreign Export Double Stout This is the direct
ancestor of today’s Foreign Extra Stout. In the 1800's, it was the
same gravity as the domestic Double Stout/Extra Stout but hopped more heavily
and matured longer, which meant it was stronger too. Around 1900, both had
an OG of 1074 but the export stout was 7.8% ABV, the domestic stout only
7%.

Murphy's has led a difficult life in the last 40 years. After teetering
on the edge of extinction, it appears now to have a fairly secure life as
a Heineken niche market brewery. Then again, that's what I said about Ridder
of Maastricht a year or two before Heineken closed them down.

1965

Watney Mann buy a 30% stake.

1967

Watney Mann stake increased to 51%..

1969

Watney's make a deal to sell draught Guinness in their English pubs.

1971

Watney's pull out and sell Murphy to Taiscí Stáit
Teoranta (TST), the state rescue agency.

1974

The Licensed Vintners Co-operative Society (a group of 1,000 publicans)
buy the 48.7% of the shares not owned by TST.

1982

The company goes into receivership.

1983

Heineken purchases all Murphy's assets.

In the dark days of the early 1970's, output dropped below 15,000 barrels
(25,000 hl). Very sad, compared to the 140,000 barrels (230,000 hl) brewed
in 1900. Here's an overview of the brewery' output from its founding until
the 1970's:

Stout. Brewed from Pale Malt, Crystal Malt, Wheat Malt, Flaked
Malt, Flaked Barley, Roast Barley, Roast Malt; Galena, Nugget and
East Kent Goldings hops. Based on a recipe used by Deasy's of West
Cork in the early 1900's.

Microbrewery. Though the brewing kit is still in place at the city centre
pub, all the beer comes from a standalone brewery in the suburb of Blanchardstown.

According to their website "The Porterhouse uses a traditional true
top fermentation Bi strain Yorkshire stone squar yeast or, alternatively,
your eyes may start to glaze over at this point. It's highly flocculent
and comes from the Old Romsey brewery in Kent by way of the East Riding
Brewery."

Irish Ale. Export version. Filtered and pasteurised.
Bread and malt aroma; sweetish/bitter with biscuit, fruit and burnt
aromas; bitter finish with hop, burnt and toast aromas.
Much better than I expected. Has a high level of malt bitterness.
Either it's changed or my memory is playing tricks again.

47

Smithwick's Barley Wine

5.5%

Barley wine. About 4% too weak for the style.

Owned by Guinness (now Diageo) since
1965. Usually sold under the name Kilkenny outside Ireland. The brewery
is in the grounds of St Francis's Abbey. Also brews Budweiser under licence.

Irish ale. Served by mixed gas pressure. Filtered and pasteurised.
Sherbert and milk aromas; sweetish taste with fruit and biscuit aromas;
bitterish finish with malt and biscuit aromas.
Pretty bland. A little bit malty but almost no hop character. The
beer that popularised "smooth" ales in Britain.
Also brewed under licence in England.